England
middle-order batsman Ben Stokes, playing in the city where he was
born, scored a punishing century as England defeated defending champion
India by 31 runs in the final group stage match in the ICC U19 Cricket
World Cup at Bert Sutcliffe in Lincoln, near Christchurch.

Ben
Stokes (top) during his knock of 100, David Payne in his spell
of 3 for 49. (Photos courtesy of ICC )

The win
means England has topped Group A while India has finished second.
As such, England will now take on the West Indies in the Super League
quarter-final at Rangiora while traditional rivals India and Pakistan
will go head to head in the other quarter-final at Bert Sutcliffe
in front of ESPN STAR Sports cameras. Both the quarter-finals will
be played on Saturday, 23 January.

England got
off to a slow start after being put in to bat, thanks to a brilliant
opening spell from India left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Netrawalkar
who bowled 10 overs straight and finished with figures of 10-1-25-3.

England looked
to be in serious trouble at 60-4 in the 19th over but 18-year old
Stokes combined with Ateeq Javid (42) to breathe life back into
the English innings. The two batsmen added 100 runs for the fifth
wicket in 21 overs

Stokes clobbered
four fours and six sixes as he went on to make 100 off 87 balls
with his second 50 coming off just 27 balls before being the sixth
batsman out at the score of 222 in the 46th over. England finally
finished at 246-8.

Stroke was more
destructive in the batting powerplay which England took in the 39th
over as it collected 55 runs.

Apart from opening
bowler Netrawalkar, none of the other India bowlers seriously troubled
the England batsmen as the runs came thick and fast from the likes
of Harshal Patel and Harmeet Singh who both conceded six an over
from their eight-over spells.

In reply, India’s batsmen occasionally got
starts but were unable to build any substantial individual innings
or partnerships. Wickets fell with regularity and it was left to
wicketkeeper Sufiyan Shaikh to take the total over 200. Shaikh scored
45 off 72 deliveries while Netrawalkar backed up his bowling effort
with 28 at the end of the innings.

England’s David Payne was the most successful
bowler, taking 3-40 while batting hero Stokes chipped in with two
wickets including the scalp of dangerous Mayank Agarwal who was
smartly caught by Jack Manuel.

Stokes said it was a thrill to score a century in
the city he was born. “To score a World Cup century in the
country I was born is something very special,” he said.

England captain
Azeem Rafiq praised the efforts of Stokes. “The way Stokesy
got out there and hit the ball, it was incredible. He’s got
a lot of talent and not just with the bat, but also with the ball
and in the field.

“It wasn’t
just him. At 60-4, no one would have given us a chance against India.
It came at us hard early and got away with it. But the way the lads
stuck together was incredible. It was a team effort and I’m
absolutely delighted.”

With England
and India advancing to the next stage, third-placed Afghanistan
and fourth-placed Hong Kong will appear in the Plate Championship
which starts in Napier from Saturday.